This is one of the largest compilations of songs recorded by Sugar Hill Records and collects some of the best singles released by the label in chronological order from their first release in 1979 to their last six years later in 1985. Five CDs, fifty-five singles, over twenty artists represented, this compilation contains some of the label's greatest songs — consequently, some of the best in hip-hop history — despite the absence of a few classics.
Founded by R&B veterans Sylvia and Joe Robinson in 1979, Sugar Hill Records defined rap's early landscape, taking many important steps for the genre and laying one crucial piece after another with its few acts. The Robinsons' willingness to stay true to their small paddock — LL Cool J's demos are rejected by the label dozens of times — was both Sugar Hill's strength in the early eighties and its predictable demise a few years later in the mid-eighties, when it began to lose relevance in the panorama proving to be incapable of renewing itself by continuously recycling its few hits.
The performers are Sugarhill Gang, The Sequence, Super-Wolf, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (first hip-hop group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Spoonie Gee, The Moments, Positive Force, Funky 4+1, Wayne & Charlie, West Street Mob, Trouble Funk, Sylvia, Treacherous Three, The Crash Crew, Busy Bee, Grandmaster Melle Mel & Duke Bootee, Kevie Kev aka Waterbed Kev, Chilly Kids, Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five, Miracle Mike & The Ladies of the 80's and Mass Production.
The beats are created by Sylvia Robinson, Joey Robinson Jr., Leland Robinson, Denise LaSalle, Jigsaw Productions, Clifton "Jiggs" Chase, Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher, Melvin "Melle Mel" Glover, Sugarhill Gang, Cheryl Cook, Tommy Keith, Nate Edmonds, Michael and Larry Johnson, Mr. Magic, Ed Ellerbe, James "Otiste" Drumgole, Larry Marshall, Michael "Miracle Mike" Carriel, Reggie Griffin, Trouble Funk, Pete Wingfield, David Belafonte, Cylaton Savage, Busy Bee, Treacherous Three, Kool Moe Dee, Bernard Alexander, Doug Wimbish, Kurt Hoffmann and Quincy Newell.
1.1 Sugarhill Gang — "Rapper's Delight"
All starts from here.
Fatback Band came before them to record the first rap song in history with "King Tim III (Personality Jock)", nevertheless, "Rapper's Delight" stands strong in everyone's mind as the first officially released rap track, it's the best known. Joe and Sylvia Robinson, together with Milton Maiden founded a music label in Englewood, New Jersey, in 1979, Sugar Hill Records. The label is financed by Tony Riviera and Morris Levy, the latter is owner of Roulette Records, who gets most of the profits from the label's releases after also helping the Robinsons in their ill-fated venture with their previous label, All Platinum. The former soul singer Sylvia Robinson goes looking for someone who could make an album that featured part of the music and the sounds of what she had attended at a birthday party, where a guy, Lovebug Starski, improvised into the microphone during the instrumental parts of disco and funk songs. However, no rapper intends to record a rap song, because most of them believes that the particular style cannot be contained in a recording studio, being made for live performances only.
Sylvia Robinson doesn't know who to turn to and asks her son Joey Jr. for advice, who takes her to one of the few who seems willing to record in the studio, Curtis Fisher aka Grandmaster Caz: the boy has already released several singles, however, he refuses to deal with the Robinsons, who already have a bad reputation in the industry. Somehow, Sylvia and Joey Jr. pick up kids off the street and are unable to choose between the three remaining candidates to go to the studio to recreate the sound that Sylvia Robinson wants, finally deciding to artificially combine them: The Sugarhill Gang was born, consisting of Henry "Big Bank Hank" Jackson, Michael "Wonder Mike" Wright and Guy "Master Gee" O'Brien. The boys will be joined by a live band who are still signed to their label, Positive Force.
In late 1979, the Sugarhill Gang's first song, "Rapper's Delight," was released. «The kids will talk very fast» according to the producer, Sylvia Robinson. The first seconds comes from a sample of "Here Comes the Sound Again", a successful disco music cut by the British group Love De-Luxe of the same period (1979) and used as a vibrant intro, chaotic and festive for this song. Then comes the Chic sample from "Good Times", their latest hit. The guys of the Sugarhill Gang have in fact already heard the song a few days before, in a concert in New York, at the Palladium, where the Chic were performing together with the Clash and Blondie: when Chic started playing "Good Times", Fab Five Freddy and some of the Sugarhill Gang jumped on stage and started freestyling with the band. The music is phenomenal, thanks to Chic. It's unclear whether Sylvia Robinson used the original track or interpolated it by having her group Positive Force play it for about twenty minutes. It's decided that Wonder Mike goes first, then Big Hank, then Master Gee. Mike enters after about half a minute and delivers the first four bars of a chorus destined to remain in history:
"I said a hip-hop, the hippie, the hippie
To the hip, hip-hop and you don't stop the rockin'
To the bang-bang boogie, say up jump the boogie
To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat"
Mike then delivers the first of ten verses. Hank by the next verse is already reading the book of rhymes that he borrowed from Grandmaster Caz never crediting or paying homage to him during the record, that being said, also the rest of the stanzas are built in a completely non-original way, indeed, you can find many stolen rhymes from other emcees that the guys have heard over the years at block parties, for example there are several excerpts directly from Coke La Rock. One of the most famous kicks off the second chorus, performed by Big Bank Hank after his verse and equally iconic:
"Everybody go, 'Hotel, motel, Holiday inn'"
The rest of the piece continues to be an endless bragging party. Master Gee follows with extra verse, Wonder Mike has two short verses in a row, extra verse for Hank, Master Gee, Wonder Mike, again Hank who allows himself to say in the course of his last verse both "But whatever ya do in your lifetime / Ya never let a MC steal your rhyme" both "I didn't even bite, not a god**** word / And I say a little more later on tonight / So the sucker MCs can bite all night", while he reciting another emcees rhymes, literally. Last verse to Master Gee, another extra verse.
The original track runs up to fifteen minutes and is one of the longest rap singles ever. There are also shorter seven-minute (with six verses) and four-minute (with three verses) versions. Despite a third of the song being written by him, Grandmaster Caz gets no credit for "Rapper's Delight", even if he today he's fully considered one of the authors of the song together with the members of Chic: a few weeks after the single's release, Nile Rodgers hears a song in a club that has a bassline that is curiously similar to the one Bernard Edwards played for their track "Good Times" and Rodgers discovers that the song is an early version of "Rapper's Delight". Intent on going legal, Rodgers and the Chic settle Robinson in exchange for co-writing credit.
Over the years it has become one of the most influential songs in the history of the genre, "Rapper's Delight" ranks worldwide between December 1979 and the first months of 1980, reaching the top 40 in the Hot 100 and fourth place in the Hot Soul Singles chart. It ranks across four continents, reaching the lists of Australia (37), New Zealand (18), Austria (5), Belgium (2), France (2), West Germany (3), Ireland (14), Italy (10), Norway (2), Sweden (2), Switzerland (2) and the United Kingdom (3), the Republic of South Africa (3) and coming to the top of Canada, the Netherlands and Spain. In Canada, France and Italy it's among the best-selling singles of the year and is one of the best-selling singles ever in the United States, according to some critics and journalists is the best-selling 12" ever, but the RIAA certification never comes because the Robinsons decide not to get the RIAA membership, which they didn't want to pay for. The success of the single also leads to the group's first album in 1980, in which "Rapper's Delight" is obviously inserted but in the version reduced to just under five minutes, which paradoxically makes it the shortest song on the album.
1.2 The Sequence — "Funk You Up"
Second single released by Sugar Hill Records, by all-female hip-hop trio The Sequence, composed by Angie "Angie B." Stone, Cheryl "Cheryl the Pearl" Cook and Gwendolyn "Blondie" Chisolm. This is the first hip-hop song released by a female rap group and by a Southern group, because all the members are natives of Columbia, South Carolina. The rhythm created by Sylvia Robinson is simple, good bass, very heavy slow thin drum, funky groove. Sung hook and sung delivery with some rapping from the group building an honest funky track that isn't inserted in their debut album. This is one of the first rap singles ever to chart on Billboard, #15 on the Black Singles.
1.3 Sugarhill Gang — "Rapper's Reprise (Jam Jam)" (ft. The Sequence)
Kind of sequel of "Rapper's Delight" is an eight-minute track that boasts the presence of the Sequences as guests. The track landed on the Sugarhill Gang's first album track listing making Sequence the first ever guest artists on a hip-hop album. Sylvia Robinson's production is simple, funky dance with a good groove. Both the three guest girls and the three hosts participate, Master Gee for the Sugarhill Gang and Angie B. for the Sequence they have two verses each, one more than everyone else. The track is extracted as a second single from the first album, but didn't chart. The entire "Rapper's Reprise" is ghostwritten by the Sequence.
1.4 Super-Wolf — "Super-Wolf Can Do It"
Forgotten artist of the first days, Super-Wolf from Jackson, Tennessee, drop this hit in March 1980 for Sugar Hill Records. Dance rhythm by Denise LaSalle, spare and light drum, simple hook that repeats the title, Super Wolf puts out some brag saying he's the best, the coolest and that this isn't "Rapper's Delight", this isn't the Sugarhill Gang or the Sequence. Six verses with the final outro, easy-going and smooth delivery by Super-Wolf, the track flies at ten minutes. Completely slept-on single from the old school, absolute raw pearl.
1.5 Sugarhill Gang — "Hot Hot Summer Day"
Song published in 1980 included in the group's second album (1981), produced by Sylvia Robinson. The beat is funky, there's a good bass line, the production sounds fresh. Initial rnb hook by female chorus singers — I assume the Sequence — then rap that takes some of the success and lyrics of their one-hit, is inevitable.
1.6 The Sequence — "And You Know That"
This is the second single from Sequence, included in their debut album released the same year. The production is shared between Sylvia Robinson and Jigsaw Productions, the rhythm is fast, funky, good rap from the girls. The hook is a mix between some lines inspired by "Rapper's Delight" and "Funk You Up".
1.7 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "Freedom" (Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Rahiem, Kidd Creole & Cowboy)
The group is formed in 1975 in the Bronx, New York, when Melle Mel and Kid Creole join Cowboy and Flash to create Grand Master Flash and The Three MC's, with production by Flash. Later arrived Mr. Ness (the group changes name to The Furious Four) and Rahiem from another Bronx hip-hop group, Funky Four Plus One. With Rahiem, the group is renamed Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.
This is the first track by Joseph "Grand Master Flash" Saddler and his group in this compilation, being the first released on Sugar Hill, however, it's not the first single released by the boys: in 1979, The Furious Five (without Flash) are featured on "We Rap More Mellow", a single that Terry Lewis produced and released without their knowledge under the name Younger Generation, a project of his own under which various emcees will perform in the future. Around the same period, "Flash to the Beat" was released under the name Flash and the Five, then "Superappin'", released in 1979 on Enjoy Records. 18 verses in which Grand Master Flash is joined by the Furious Five, a group originally composed of five emcees: Melvin "Melle Mel" Glover, his brother Nathaniel "Kid Creole" Glover, Edward "Mr. Ness" Morris aka Scorpio, Keith "Cowboy" Wiggins and Guy Todd "Rahiem" Williams.
In 1980, they released "Super Rappin' No. 2" with Enjoy, then the group signs with Sugar Hill. Released in 1980, featuring the Furious Five but not Grandmaster Flash, this first single under Sugar Hill Records is the first to enter the Billboard charts (#19 among rnb singles) and for a few years will be the group's biggest hit. Production is by Joey Robinson Jr. The beat is simple, heavy drum lean and slow, smooth delivery, functional hook with festive jazzy bridge from Freedom's "Get Up and Dance". "Freedom" will be part of the dj mix "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel". The cut is cheerful, it's so cheerful that you almost don't realize it could be the pioneer of mafia rap, as the guys place a direct quote from the film "The Godfather" (1972) by Francis Ford Coppola.
1.8 Spoonie Gee Meets The Sequence — "Monster Jam" (ft. The Sequence)
The Southern group The Sequence is again the guest in a hip-hop song in the 1980 year, this time for Spoonie Gee. The rhythm, created by Clifton "Jiggs" Chase and Sylvia Robinson, takes up that of "Rapper's Delight" and is delicious and elegant, thanks to a mix of festive chaotic sounds, a vibrant bass, a good drum and a keyboard stolen from disco-dance. On this soundscape, the Sequences brilliantly support the smoothness rap of Spoonie G, in his second work after "Spoonin Rap", rapper's iconic wax debut which isn't included in this compilation due to the crime of not being released on Sugar Hill Records in 1979. This classic jam also features some back and forth and a dance bridge, stretching towards nine minutes, but the performers make them pass incredibly quickly, between fluid rap and fresh production.
1.9 The Moments — "Baby Let's Rap Now (Part 1)"
Before venturing into the hip-hop scene with Sugar Hill Records, Joe and Sylvia Robinson owned All Platinum Records, which has many subsidiaries, including Stang. Stang's most notable artist is The Moments, a male soul group consisting of a trio of singers. The trio was formed in Washington in the sixties and initially signed by the local label Hog, owned by the Mizell brothers (cousins of Jam Master Jay, later member of Run-DMC) and Freddie Perren. In the second half of the sixties, the Moments signed with the Stang, subsidiary of the All Platinum of the Robinsons and in 1968, three of the four members of the group (Greene, arrived after the original lineup of the trio, Olfus and Gross) left the label. Morgan remains and he's joined by Al Goodman and Billy Brown. Sylvia Robinson's brother-in-law Johnny "Moe" Moore briefly replaces Morgan, who's later dropped from the group and replaced permanently with Harry Ray. When the trio left Stang in 1978 to move to Polydor, Stang prevented them from keeping the name "The Moments", owned by the label, and the trio is rebranded as Ray, Goodman and Brown, while Stang is allowed to continue recording material with other artists under the name "The Moments".
On lyrics whose authors are credited to Johnny "Moe" Moore, former member of the trio and sometimes credited as producer of this song, and Tommy Keith, the main performer of this song is not clear, according to some it's Cliff Perkins who performs together with two backing singers, according to others it's Harry Ray returned to Sugar Hill Records, while Perkins is one of the two backing vocalists, in one of Sugar Hill's attempts to reform the trio. Sometimes credited, erroneously, to the group Ray, Goodman and Brown, "Baby Let's Rap Now (Part 1)" is the last hit released under the Moments name — part 2 is released as the b-side of the single — then the group will be shelved soon after the explosion of hip-hop and artists signed to Sugar Hill like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. The production is sometimes credited to Moe Moore, but provided by Clifton "Jiggs" Chase and Tommy Keith. The beat is splendid, it borrows so much from disco-dance for this fully sung rnb track, there's no rap.
1.10 Positive Force — "People Get on Up"
This is the b-side of "Especially for You", a single released in France by the group through Sugar Hill Records and French label Vogue. Nate Edmonds' (sometimes uncredited) production is splendid, dance beat, funky groove, great. Iconic hook sung by some girls of the group, singing verses that leave plenty of room for Edmonds' dominant rhythm.
2.1 Sugarhill Gang — "8th Wonder"
One of the latest masterpieces of the boys. Rhythm produced by Sylvia and Joey Robinson Jr., the sample comes from "Daisy Lady" by 7th Wonder, it's purely disco. Simple chorus, honest rap from the kids, who are still hooked on their massive hit. In any case, this is one of their best tracks, later included in their second CD. The entry into the Hot 100 allows the group to be the first to land two rap singles on the chart and the first hip-hop group to place at least one single on the chart for two years in a row. The track is ghostwritten by The Sequence.
2.2 Funky 4+1 — "That's the Joint"
Funky 4+1 is a hip-hop group from Bronx, New York. It's born around 1977/1978, in a period when the kids attend to the shows of DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash. Recording their live performances, the boys are noticed by Bobby Robinson, president of Enjoy Records, with whom they sign a contract. The group is formed by Keith "Keith Keith" Caesar, Guy "Rahiem" Williams (who then left the group to join the Furious Five), Jeffrey "Jazzy Jeff" Miree (not DJ Jazzy Jeff from Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince) and Keith "DJ Breakout" Williams (in-house dj). To this four is added Sharon "Sha-Rock" Green (first woman MC), Funky Four Plus One More, then Funky 4+1. Rahiem is replaced by Rodney "Lil' Rodney C!" Stone, who later married Angie B of the Sequence. Kevin "KK Rockwell" Smith join the group in 1978. In 1981, KK Rockwell and Lil' Rodney C! left the group to pursue a career as a duo, taking part in the movie "Wild Style" (1983) and in the soundtrack with the song "M.C. Battle".
The boys released "Rappin and Rockin' the House" in 1979, as teenagers, but the song didn't get the response the group was looking for and other artists were getting. The Funky 4+1 leave Enjoy and jump on the Sugar Hill Records bandwagon, which isn't a bandwagon, it's a train in the early eighties, a train headed towards success that doesn't stop at any station. No one wants to miss that train, certainly not Grandmaster Flash, who also leaves Enjoy and marries to Sugar Hill, which in a few months has gone from an anonymous residence to the most important house of hip-hop. Sales of Enjoy singles are doing so well that they are taking away the market from Sugar Hill singles: Sylvia Robinson (not related to Bobby, despite are both born in Harlem, Sylvia née Vanderpool) can't attract those artists to her label, but she can afford to buy the artists from Enjoy and Bobby doesn't have many options. For Enjoy is the beginning of the end, everyone will be gone, and almost everyone to Sugar Hill Records, by the way, including Spoonie G (1980; he's the nephew of Bobby Robinson and he starts to rap in the uncle's apartment; he will return to Enjoy in 1985), Treacherous Three (1982), The Fearless Four (1983), Doug E. Fresh (1984). It's a diaspora, even the same son of Bobby Robinson, Ronnie, emcee of the hip-hop group Disco Four, will leave his father's label in 1982 to sign with Profile.
In 1980, Funky 4+1 released their second single, "That's the Joint". Produced by Sylvia Robinson and Jigsaw Inc. (it's also credited Clifton "Jiggs" Chase on the music), the beat is built heavily on a sample of "Rescue Me" by A Taste of Honey, splendid bass, great rhythm that draws from dance, jazz and funk, the production is sensational. The boys build a great track of nine minutes and unleash the group's secret weapon, the "+1", Sha-Rock, which destroys the beat and takes the joint. Considered one of hip-hop's most influential songs, one of the best of the decade, and in retrospect, also one of the best hip-hop songs ever, it soon becomes the one-hit of Funky Four Plus One, their signature song.
Funky 4+1 go down in history as the first hip-hop group to receive a record deal and the first to do a live performance on national television, as well as having the first female MC, Sha-Rock. In February 1981, the boys performed on Saturday Night LIve hosted by Debbie Harry: the group were also expected to open for Blondie on tour at Debbie Harry's request, but the Funky 4+1 were prevented from doing so by Sugar Hill Records president Sylvia Robinson. "That's the Joint" is the group's first single with the new label, followed by "Do You Want to Rock (Before I Let Go)" (1982) and "Feel It (The Mexican)" (1983), released under the name Funky Four, as well as an album made together with the Crash Crew, "Crash Crew Meets Funky Four", distributed in 1983 by Vogue, a French subsidiary of Sugar Hill. But now, the group considers themselves marginal within Sugar Hill Records, having not achieved the same consideration, promotion and recognition as the other two major groups of the label, Sugarhill Gang and Flash, who have continued to grind out one hit after another over the years, cementing their place in hip-hop. The group disbanded in 1983.
2.3 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "The Birthday Party"
Second single from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five under the Sugar Hill label, released in 1980. Production credits to Jiggs and Sylvia Robinson. The track is upbeat, with a good funky groove, vibrant bassline, light drum, honest rap from the boys creating their second hit. This song also ends up on the Billboard charts, effectively making the group one of Sugar Hill Records' flagship acts.
2.4 Wayne & Charlie — "Check It Out"
1982 single by Wayne & Charlie (The Rapping Dummy), a short-lived duo. Production credited to Sylvia Inc and Jigsaw Productions: simplistic beat, sparse and syncopated drum, breezy rhythm, then this duo's light-hearted delivery, functional hook, decent upbeat party dance track, unmemorable.
2.5 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel"
Song of the Year 1981. It's a live DJ mix recording of Grandmaster Flash scratching and mixing records using three turntables. Highly influential, it's an early example of what would eventually be defined turntablism. One of the best DJ mixes of the decade, if not ever. Production is credited to Sylvia Robinson and Jigsaw Productions (sometimes also Joey Robinson Jr.), but the work is totally attributed to Grandmaster Flash, this is a single of him released in 1981 and then included in his group's debut album the following year. The mix is based on the rhythms of "Good Times" by Chic, a foundation for the first hit of the musical genre, "Rapper's Delight", and on that of "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. The mix begins with a tribute to Spoonie G ("Monster Jam"), followed by another to "Rapture" by Debbie Harry, one of Blondie's biggest hits, the first song to reach the top of the Hot 100 containing rap, contributing to the spread of the genre. Then the mix weaves hip-hop and genre tracks, such as "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, "Freedom" and "Birthday Party" by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "Life Story" by The Hellers, "The Decoys of Ming the Merciless" by Jackson Beck and "8th Wonder" by Sugarhill Gang. It deservedly enters the rnb charts, it's monumental. The mix is beautiful, magical, ethereal, still sounds fresh today, it's a classic, Flash did a masterful job. This is the first anthology song released in hip-hop, in the early eighties.
2.6 Sugarhill Gang & the Furious Five — "Showdown"
Aka The Furious Five Meets the Sugarhill Gang. Sugar Hill Records puts its two biggest artists on the same track to smash the market and make another big hit, "Showdown" was born. Production by brothers Michael and Larry Johnson with Sylvia Robinson. The beat is simple dance with funky vibes, there's a good bassline and the drum is dry. The rap is honest, but the guys don't seem to be at their best, they sound a bit plastered, they don't excel. The single hits the charts (it's the Furious Five's fourth in a row, the Sugarhill Gang's third in a row) and is included on the Sugarhill Gang's album "8th Wonder", becoming the first Furious Five song to end up on an LP. This makes the Furious Five (again credited with Flash) the only guest on that album and the second guest in history on a hip-hop album, after the Sequence, who also featured on the Sugarhill Gang's first CD.
2.7 West Street Mob — "Let's Dance (Make Your Body Move)"
This is one of the in-house bands of Sugar Hill Records, not unlike the Sugarhill Gang itself. It was formed in the early eighties by Bill McGee, historic trumpeter linked to various pieces of Sugar Hill, Sabrina Gillison, Warren Moore and, last but not least, the sons of Sylvia Robinson Leland and Joey Jr. Moore and Joey Jr. will form the Original Sugarhill Gang together with Big Bank Hank (one of the original members of the Sugarhill Gang) and other guys, following legal disputes with the other two original members of the Sugarhill Gang after their exit from the label in 2005.
This song was released in 1981 as the group's first single and then included in their debut album, released the same year. Properly promoted by the Robinsons, the single hit the charts and entered the Hot 100, one of Sugar Hill's first singles to do so. The album also enters the rnb record chart, and until then only the Sugarhill Gang had been capable of that. The production is by Joey Robinson Jr. (sometimes uncredited), the guy makes a good uptempo dance beat, with fast drums and a good bass line. The boys' performance is honest, the female sung hook sounds better than the rest, despite not having a credit and could not have been performed by the group — as stated by Angie Stone herself in a 2023 interview, the hook is made by the Sequence, uncredited. Electro cut that has little to do with hip-hop, and makes abundant use of the vocoder.
2.8 Spoonie Gee — "Spoonie Is Back"
Gabriel "Spoonie G" Jackson was born in Harlem, New York. The nickname comes from the fact that the spoon was the only object he used to eat. His mother died in adolescence, the boy goes to live with his uncle Bobby Robinson, record producer (who owns Enjoy Records) in whose apartment he starts rapping, after trying rnb without much success. At the end of the seventies, producer Peter Brown shows up in his uncle's record shop looking for someone willing to record a rap track: the dude meets Spoonie G and the two record "Spoonin Rap" under Brown's Sound of New York, USA label. It's one of the first tracks, if not the first, to refer to prison, a theme that later became common in gangsta rap tracks (by virtue of which, Spoonie G is often credited with being the first gangsta rapper), and echo is applied to his vocals. Nonetheless, the emcee decides to leave Brown's label shortly thereafter.
He's believed to be one of the very first rappers in entire history to have released on wax. "Spoonin Rap" is from 1979. The following year, Spoonie G chooses to sign with his uncle's Enjoy Records and releases "Love Rap". Also, the boy convinces Bobby Robinson to sign his friends group, The Treacherous Three, who record "The New Rap Language" and release it as a b-side of "Love Rap": the track gets a positive response from the public thanks to a faster than usual rapping style, and Robinson is convinced to sign the group to Enjoy. Unlike his group, Spoonie G returns solo and leaves Enjoy, moving to Sugar Hill Records. The same year, 1980, "Monster Jam" was also released, the third single by Spoonie G, the first with the new label, featuring The Sequence.
In 1981 it was the turn of the second single of the emcee with Sugar Hill, "Spoonie Is Back": it's also the last with the label of Sylvia and Joe Robinson, then the boy will sign with Heavenly Star Records and Tuff City. Produced by Sylvia Robinson, it boasts a light funky dance beat with great bassline, good drum, good sound. Chorus left to the rhythm, light smoothness rap by Spoonie Gee who scores another classic in his discography.
2.9 Sugarhill Gang — "Apache"
The production is provided by Sylvia Robinson and Jiggs. The rhythm is spectacular, it heavily uses a sample of the homonymous song by the Incredible Bongo Band group, fusing funk and disco-dance in an excellent, iconic beat. Simple hook, beautiful bridge, great rap, this is one of their best cuts, featured on their second album. It's ghostwritten by The Sequence, as affirmed by Angie Stone. This track is their third and last to enter the Hot 100 and their second biggest commercial success, it also charts in Europe. It was their first single released in 1981 and the first from their second album, and it also allowed the group to be the first hip-hop act to place three songs on the Hot 100, and the first to chart at least one single for three years in a row.
2.10 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)"
Production provided by Sylvia Robinson and Jigsaw Productions, funky beat with good groove, decent rap, simple lyrics. Take advantage of a sample from "Genius of Love" by Tom Tom Club released the same year. The cut ends up on the group's first album, "The Message" (1982). Third song released by the group in 1981 and above all the first single from their album, this is one of their major commercial successes, and the fifth single in a row to enter the charts: with this piece, in 1981, the group surpasses the Sugarhill Gang as the number of singles that have reached the rnb chart.
3.1 Trouble Funk — "Hey Fellas"
Ninth single from the Washington D.C. group, who until then had signed to TF Records, Al & The Kidd Records and Jamtu Records, before settling with Sugar Hill in 1982 releasing two singles and an album before leaving the label. In 1982 they released their second LP, the only one with Sugar Hill, inserting "Hey Fellas" as the first song. The album is well received by retrospective critics. This beat, self produced, is simple, funky, tribal, danceable and upbeat, good pre go-go anthem.
3.2 West Street Mob — "Sing a Simple Song"
Fourth single of the group, released in 1982. It's their second and last single to enter the Hot 100. Another electro track that makes use of the vocoder, sung delivery, sung chorus, nothing memorabile. The beat is provided by Cheryl Cook and Joey Robinson Jr.
3.3 Sylvia Robinson — "It's Good to Be the Queen"
Sylvia Robinson tail flick that manages to re-enter the charts four years after the last time with this hit, "It's Good to Be the Queen", 1982. On an intriguing dance production created by Sylvia Robinson herself and Jigsaw Productions, the author sings for eight minutes. In fact, much of the time is reserved for dance music itself.
3.4 Sugarhill Gang — "The Lover in You"
Pete Wingfield & Sylvia Inc. create a masterful dance soundscape for this Sugarhill Gang hit, mostly sung rather than rap, limited here compared to most of the group's work. This looks like one of the many Sequence works, a track originally intended for the Sequence that Sylvia Robinson preferred to have the kids perform to promote sales. The Sugarhill Gang's only single released in 1982, included on their third CD released the following year, the song ranks on the rnb chart (fourth in a row to do so) and allows the Sugarhill Gang to become the first rap act to chart at least one single for four consecutive years.
3.5 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "The Message" (Melle Mel & Duke Bootee)
Song of the Year 1982, best hip-hop song of the eighties and, according to many, the best ever. In 2002 it was included in the Library of Congress, the first hip-hop song to do so. Critics have welcomed what is a truly timeless and immortal anthem of the genre. The Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five group suddenly changes pace, makes a change of direction that no one expects and leaves everyone stunned, forcing the others to chase them, also given the incredible response from the public: the boys deviate from the usual songs in which they constantly brag and create a narrative in which they describe in a compelling way the problems and struggles of life in the ghetto, carrying forward a socio-conscious message.
Production credits Sylvia Inc., Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher and Jiggs Chase. The soundscape, built mainly by Duke Bootee, is beautiful, extraordinary, mixes elements of funk, disco dance, electro and dub, it's slower than the average of the period, allowing the lyrics of the interpreters to get more space. With this track, the emcee gets to be the star of the hip-hop track bypassing the dj, that before that he was the star of the song and in this way the lyrics of the interpreter start to have a greater importance in the track than the music. The song was born around 1980, when Sylvia Robinson requests a "protest rap song", rapper Duke Bootee, collaborator of the Furious Five but not a member, and Sugar Hill Records' in-house producer Clifton "Jiggs" Chase took it upon themselves to create the track. Duke Bootee realizes all music and lyrics, the last verse is written by Melle Mel. Although the song is created entirely by Duke Bootee with the final addition of Melle Mel, it's credited entirely to the group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, but precisely, hardly anyone takes part in it, just Melle Mel and not even Flash. Duke Bootee introduces the song with a hook that goes down in history:
"It's like a jungle sometimes
It makes me wonder how I keep from going under"
It's now accepted that the reference to the jungle is to New York, although Duke Bootee writes thinking about the neighborhood where he grew up in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey. Then the kid leaves two of the four verses he wrote to Melle Mel. Two more verses, this time performed by Duke Bootee. For the last verse, it's decided that all members of the group will have the opportunity to record it and be part of the song: originally, getting the final verse is Rahiem, who recited a full verse of Melle Mel from the group's first single, "Superappin'", released in 1979 on Enjoy Records. In agreement with Sylvia Robinson, it's decided that Melle Mel will have the last verse reciting that same verse.
The cut is a masterpiece of socio-conscious hip-hop, detailing the urban decay and frustration of the kids due to poverty in the ghetto. The final verse of Melle Mel tells of a poor boy born in the ghetto who has the only prospect in life to become a criminal, so he's arrested and commits suicide in prison. The piece ends with a short skit in which the members of the group are arrested for unexplained reasons.
"The Message" is their first track of 1982, the album's second single, sixth single in a row to chart (the boys are the first to do it), seventh rap song ever to chart on the Hot 100 and their biggest hit ever. The song reached number 4 among rnb songs, the only one to enter the Hot 100 (second act to place a rap single on the charts after the Sugarhill Gang, who were at three at the time). The track is an international hit charting on three continents.
3.6 The Treacherous Three — "Whip It"
The Treacherous Three is a hip-hop group from Harlem, New York, founded in 1978 by Gabriel "Spoonie Gee" Jackson, Lamar "L.A. Sunshine" Hill, Theodore "DJ Easy Lee" Moyé and Mohandes "Kool Moe Dee" Dewese. When Spoonie G began recording solo, the members replaced him with childhood friend Kevin "Special K" Keaton. With the return of Spoonie G in the ranks of the group, for a short time it takes the name of Spoonie G & the Treacherous Three, then Spoonie G decides to pursue a solo career by definitively separating from the group.
Separating from Sound of New York, USA with which he had released his first single in 1979, Spoonie G signs for Enjoy Records, his uncle Bobby Robinson's label and convinces his uncle to also record his friends Treacherous Three. Spoonie G releases "Love Rap" in 1980 as his first single on the label, the b-side of the track is "The New Rap Language", first single released by the Treacherous Three, who get a singles deal with Enjoy. After releasing four more between 1980 and 1981 ("The Body Rock", "At the Party", "Put the Boogie in Your Body", "Feel the Heartbeat"), dissatisfied with the economic performance of the singles and despite a sop provided by Bobby Robinson, the group left Enjoy and signed with Sugar Hill Records in 1981. "Whip It" (1982) is their first single with the label and marks the beginning of a long collaboration with the other Robinsons, which also leads them to produce their first LP, which will include three of the singles released on Enjoy out of six tracks.
Spoonie G isn't in "Whip It". Sylvia Inc. & Jigsaw Productions bring to the table an addictive funky production, with a good bassline and a tough drum, the boys spit faster than usual, faster than the average of the moment, and help innovate the genre by making it take the next step, with verses carried forward well in back and forth. There's also a fantastic insert sung by Philippé Winne, soul singer of the group The Spinners who in 1984 will release his latest album with Sugar Hill Records. Sixth single by the group, the first of 1982, the first from their self-titled album released the following year and the first released on Sugar Hill Records.
3.7 Crash Crew — "Scratching"
Crash Crew is one of hip-hop's pioneering groups, formed in 1977 in Harlem, New York. The group consists of friends who grew up around the Lincoln projects, Darryl "DJ Larry C" Calloway, Reginald "Reggie Reg" Payne, Barry "Barry Bistro" Bailey, George "G-Man" Belton Jr., Larry "MC La Shubee" Miller and Mike "EK Mike C" Fleming. The group began recording in 1980 for Mike and Dave Records, releasing "High Power Rap" with Dave "Disco Dave" Thomas under the name Disco Dave and the Force of the 5 MCs, Crashcrew. The same year, Crash Crew left Disco Dave's label and signed to Sugar Hill Records, starting releasing several singles. The first is "We Want to Rock" (1981), followed by "Breaking Bells" (1982), "We Are Known as Emcees" (1983), "Here We Are" (1984) and "2-4-6-8" (1985), then the group loses relevance in the circuit in coincidence with the change taking place in hip-hop and the consequent closure of their label Sugar Hill. Crash Crew goes down in history as one of the first hip-hop groups to sing.
"Scratching" is the group's first track on the collaborative album with the Funky Four released by Sugar Hill and Vogue in 1983, and is also featured on their debut solo LP released in 1984. Only track of the four of "Crash Crew Meets Funky Four" not to be released by the group as a single — "On the Radio" is released on Bay City Records, a short-lived direct subsidiary of Sugar Hill. "Scratching" is a cover of the song of the same name by The Magic Disco Machine, Crash Crew makes an instrumental choice of almost six minutes with a good beat produced by Sylvia Robinson.
3.8 West Street Mob — "Ooh Baby"
Third single by the group, released in 1982. It enters the rnb singles chart, but fails to reach the Hot 100. Good electro-dance track by West Street Mob, the hook sing by some female group is still one of the finest things in the songs of the group formed by Sylvia Robinsons' sons. The music is produced by Cheryl Cook and Joey Robinson Jr. At this point, I assume the chorus is performed by the Sequence, uncredited.
3.9 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "Scorpio"
Sugar Hill Records electro/go-go group West Street Mob had earlier attempted to make songs performed with the use of the vocoder, getting a lukewarm response from the public. After the success of "The Message", the group of Grandmaster Flash does the same thing, with a rhythm made by Jigsaw Productions and Sylvia Robinson, which doesn't shine personally, even if it was definitively the greatest early electro track. Electro lovers might appreciate it better. The title pays homage to one of the Furious Five, Eddie "Mr. Ness" Morris aka Scorpio. Tenth single from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, third from their first CD, second released in 1982. With this track the group reaches seven singles in a row on the rnb chart.
3.10 Busy Bee — "Making Cash Money"
David "Busy Bee" Parker is one of the pioneers of the genre, having started around 1977 in New York, gaining a following through MC rap battles, later joining Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu Nation. In 1981 he released his first official single for the New Jersey Master Five label, "School Days", later signing with Sugar Hill Records. This is the first of two singles released on the label over three years. The production is funky, danceable, simple, an enjoyable background for a cheerful party dance cut. The rhythm is credited to Leland Robinson even if it's based on that of "Spoonie Is Back" by Spoonie Gee, released the previous year by the same label with production by Sylvia Robinson, here credited as co-writer alongside the emcee. Also inspired by "8th Wonder" by Sugarhill Gang, Busy Bee makes a fresh cut with an iconic hook that will then be picked up by everyone.
3.11 The Sequence — "Here Comes the Bride"
The production, credited to Cheryl the Pearl, Joey Jr. and Sylvia Robinson, borrows directly from Richard Wagner to form this rnb track with some rap from one of hip-hop's pioneering, unfairly unrecognized groups. Single from 1982 that anticipates their third and final album with Sugar Hill Records, released the following year. It's one of the group's last records with the label, then Angie Stone asks Sylvia Robinson for a better contract to continue staying with Sugar Hill, and after not getting it, she leaves the group and pursues a solo career.
4.1 Melle Mel & Duke Bootee — "Message II (Survival)"
A few months after the release and enormous success of "The Message", Duke Bootee and Melle Mel go back to their own business and come up with a sequel to that socio-conscious anthem, realizing "Message II (Survival)", another socio-conscious song that narrates the social problems and poverty in the ghetto. This time the track is credited solely to Melle Mel and Duke Bootee and produced by Sylvia Robinson. The head of Sugar Hill Records believes that electro is the right horse to bet on, so the rhythm follows that precise path: on generic electro beats that mean little or nothing to me, but could very well be of interest to fans of the subgenre, Duke Bootee and Melle Mel deliver two verses in a row each, two in which they recite half a verse each, and the last one is reserved for Melle Mel, who at the end of the piece refers again to "The Message". Here Duke Bootee is one of the first emcees to refer to the crack epidemic and especially crack babies. The single hits the charts, achieving some success also in the UK in the wake of the previous singles by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, however, the track wasn't inserted on an LP, making it on a hits collection by the group released in 1984.
4.2 Crash Crew — "Breaking Bells"
Third single in the group's history, second with Sugar Hill Records. This seven-minute track uses a heavy sample from Bob James' "Take Me to the Mardi Gras". The boys deliver in good style over an accessible and minimal production, again credited to Sylvia Robinson. The song appears on both the Funky 4+1 album and their 1984 solo debut, as well as "Scratching", "On the Radio" and "Knows as MC" aka "We Are Known as Emceees (We Turn Party's Out )", to which their first Sugar Hill single "We Want to Rock" was added to complete their 1984 self-titled LP.
4.3 The Treacherous Three — "Yes We Can Can"
The rhythm is simple, mixes dance and funk approaching electro, heavy bassline, bare hard drum, hook as functional as possible, slow fluid delivery. This beat is invented by Jigsaw Productions and Sylvia Inc. The lyrics begin to address political issues in the wake of the huge success of "The Message" by Melle Mel and Duke Bootee. Seventh single of the group, second of 1982, second with Sugar Hill and second from the album "Whip It" (1983), which in the tracklist is followed by its b-side "Action", first single of the group released in 1983, with similar sounds.
4.4 Sugarhill Gang — "The Word Is Out"
The guys rap is ok on this decent beat, it's not one of their best tunes. The dance production is fine, there's a fresh bridge around the minute and a half, the beat is done by Sylvia Robinson (credited to Sylvia Inc.), Bernard Alexander and Doug Wimbish. Seventh single by the group, first release by the Sugarhill Gang in 1983, first single from their third studio album and fifth single in a row to enter the rnb chart. Additionally, the group became the first to chart at least one [rap] single for five consecutive years.
4.5 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "New York, New York" (Melle Mel & Duke Bootee)
The production, credited solely to Sylvia Robinson, is one of the year's finest: lively, cheerful, fantastic, it's one of the richest, fullest beats in the label's catalogue. There's a sample from "Don't Call Me Brother" by Instant Funk, released in the same year. This soundscape is sublime and resounding, as in "The Message", the song is credited entirely to the group Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, but in reality it's a duo effort between Melle Mel & Duke Bootee. Chorus by Melle Mel, who later in history will be used to wage the greatest war in rap, introductory verse by Furious Five member, then space for Duke Bootee with two verses, the rest of the song is practically a solo by Grandmaster Melle Mel, who delivers another four stanzas and the hooks, sending the track over seven minutes. They pass quickly, and this says a lot about the goodness of the song. Musically, bass and guitar try to steal the show amidst the noise. Lyrically, this is one of the greatest tests ever from an emcee.
In the vein of "The Message", this is another powerful and impressive socio-conscious take on poverty in the ghetto, its alienating reality and the people who live there. Duke Bootee goes down in history as probably the first, and in any case, one of the first rappers to use the word "bitch" in a rap track. In the final verse, Melle Mel delivers lyrics that directly recall one of the most famous scenes from the movie "Foxy Brown" (1974), when Link complains about the excessive ambition that television transmits to him with its everyday heroes while the reality he lives is totally different from that shown by tv.
The song didn't fit on an LP and ended up on a group hits compilation released in 1984. "New York, New York" is the second greatest success credited to the group after "The Message", and both are songs performed solely by Melle Mel & Duke Bootee. This is also the last single released by the group on Sugar Hill Records, because "Pump Me Up" is originally credited to Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five and the next one will be "Gold", released in 1988 on Elektra as first single from the group's new album. This is the eighth consecutive single from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five to enter the rnb chart, and it's also the last. For four years in a row (1980-1983), the group put a song in the charts, Flash will be able to place others in a row even as a soloist until 1987.
4.6 Sugarhill Gang — "Girls"
Solid dance production that for the first time credits the Sugarhill Gang trio behind the keyboards, namely Master Gee, Big Bank Hank and Wonder Mike alongside Sylvia Robinson. Among the writing credits also stands out that of Al Goodman, singer of the Moments, the song is in fact a direct cover of one of the group's latest hits, which obtained certification in the UK in a few months and became their most successful single overseas. The boys' rap is fine, there's a rhythm, although the track may not go down in history as much as the Moments'. In fact, it wouldn't even be a single, it's the b-side of "Troy", a single by the Sugarhill Gang released in 1984 as the second excerpt from their fourth LP. "Troy" didn't reach the charts, third to do so and the first of three uncharted singles that will convince the group to disband.
4.7 Sugarhill Gang — "Kick It Live From 9 to 5"
Fresh rhythm, production that clings faithfully and radically to dance, good rhythm, good bassline, fresh drum, honest rap. The track runs beautifully. The beat is made by Sylvia and Joey Robinson Jr. Ninth single by the group, released in 1983 for their third album as the third single and one of the last Sugarhill Gang singles to hit the rnb chart.
4.8 West Street Mob — "Break Dance Electric Boogie"
The boys pay homage to the intro of "Spoonin Rap" (1979) by Spoonie G. Then they place a break dance and scratch the track while someone spits with the vocoder, a device the group is fond of. The production, credited to the Robinson brothers, Leland and Joey Jr., lives up to "Apache" by Incredible Bongo Band, one of the most used samples in the history of hip-hop, but manages to get a fresh rhythm thanks to an addictive melody, scratches, who really never leave the electro-dance record, and the voice which I assume is one of the Sequence girls (again uncredited) that crops up every now and then.
If it's not the best thing the West Street Mob ever released, it comes pretty close. The group's fifth single, released in 1983, released as the lead single from the album of the same name released in the same year, their second and final CD. It's their fourth and final single to enter the rnb singles chart and their first to make inroads in the UK. The guys manage to put at least one single rap on the charts three years in a row. The following year the group broke up after their last single "Mosquito" was ignored by the public.
4.9 Kevie Kev — "All Night Long (Waterbed)"
Kevin "Kevie Kev" Ferguson aka Waterbed Kev is among the pioneers of hip-hop, one of many forgotten. He's originally in the Fantastic Five, a group of Grand Wizard Theodore (known as the inventor of scratching) who also boasted Dota Rock, Prince Whipper Whip (a guy who started with Grandmaster Caz and was briefly a member of the Cold Crush Brothers, before joining the Fantastic Five), Master Rob and Rubie Dee. The group stars in the film "Wild Style" (1983) and is part of the soundtrack of the film with the song "Fantastic Freaks at the Dixie".
In 1983, Kevie Kev decided to record his cover of the Rick James written and produced single "All Night Long", sung beautifully by the girl group Mary Jane Girls. The boy publishes his one-hit, produced by Joey Robinson Jr., Reggie Griffin (with Robinson Jr. in the duo New Guys on the Block) and by M², pseudonym of Mr. Magic. Simple beat, slow light-hearted delivery, sung hook. This upbeat dance party cut is arguably the pinnacle of a genre that's still rocked by Melle Mel's "The Message": Kevie Kev performs a distinctly sexual and mainly bragging track, in which he has to drop a couple of random socio-political lines, even he doesn't quite know why.
4.10 Chilly Kids — "At the Ice Arcade"
This twelve-inch is almost impossible to find on the internet, made by totally unknown guys, The Chilly Kids. Credits read Sylvia Robinson as producer, Stephen Brodsky for the lyrics. The choice is a sort of homage to early eighties arcade games, it's not hip-hop despite a sample from "The Message" towards the end.
4.11 Grandmaster & Melle Mel — "White Lines (Don't Do It)" (Melle Mel)
Following the major success of "The Message", a track featuring Furious Five member Grandmaster Melle Mel and group collaborator Duke Bootee, Sugar Hill Records head Sylvia Robinson decides that Melle Mel should be the new leader of the group in place of the Flash, due to Flash not actively taking part in "The Message". The name of the group would change from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five to Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five and would also see the exclusion of the Flash from the lineup. Around this time, the singles released by the group "Message II (Survival)" and "New York, New York" are released under the name Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five although Flash never takes part in them.
Flash stops touring with Melle Mel, a lawsuit arises between the two artists (or rather, between Flash and Sugar Hill for back royalties), Flash wins, so that the label and Melle Mel could not use the new name Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five, falling back on Grandmaster & Melle Mel for the release of this single. Subsequently, other projects are released under the name of Grandmaster Melle Mel, then the rapper abandons the Grandmaster and makes peace with the Flash in the late eighties, rejoining the Furious Five in the group Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five in the following years.
The beat is provided by Sylvia Robinson, Melle Mel and Joey Robinson Jr. The production is fresh, lively and bubbly, for the bassline it uses an unauthorized sample from "Cavern" by Liquid Liquid, released around the same time: Sugar Hill Records cannot settle Liquid Liquid for use of their song, leading to lawsuits that drag on for years. In the end, a payment of more than half a million dollars ($600,000) from Sugar Hill is settled against the group and in order to circumvent the sentence and not pay it, the label is forced to declare bankruptcy, marking the end of the historic hip-hop label.
"White Lines (Don't Do It)" was released in 1983, Melle Mel's first solo single, although the credits add a "Grandmaster &" or "Grandmaster Flash &" before his name, despite Flash not being present this time either. The track soon became one of the emcee's signature songs and an anthem against cocaine use, although it was originally intended to be an "ironic celebration of a cocaine-fueled party lifestyle", only to be changed for commercial reasons.
With "The Message", "Message II (Survival)" and "New York, New York", this track is one of Melle Mel's great commercial successes: among rnb singles doesn't climb the top 40, nevertheless, it becomes popular globally, entering the charts around the world, including that of the United Kingdom where it reaches the top ten, it becomes one of the best-selling singles of 1984 and that year it's certified silver in the UK. The song is therefore included in the self-titled debut album of the group Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five.
4.12 Crash Crew — "We Are Known As MC's"
The group's fourth single, third on Sugar Hill, their second released in 1983 after the banger "On the Radio". Known under several different titles, it boasts a sample from "The Fruit Song" by Jeannie Reynolds. The beat produced by Sylvia Robinson is funky and skeletal, the boys deliver the verses in rapping and the hook singing.
5.1 Grandmaster Melle Mel — "Jesse" (ft. Sylvia Robinson & Ronald Isley, both uncredited)
Production credited to Sylvia Robinson and Reggie Griffin. The rhythm is good, simple, mixing funk and disco dance, linking some sounds from "The Message" with others closer to electro. Dedicated to Jesse Jackson, the track features contributions from Sylvia Robinson and Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers, both uncredited. This is the second single released by Melle Mel in 1984 after "Beat Street Breakdown", a successful song for the soundtrack of the film "Beat Street" (1984), and it's his last single to enter the American rnb singles chart, the following will enter the chart in the UK. The track is inserted in the Vinyl LP and cassette of the UK edition of "Greatest Messages", compilation of 1984, but not in the US edition of the record.
5.2 Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five — "Beat Street" (Melle Mel, Mr. Ness & Cowboy)
Aka Beat Street Breakdown, created for the soundtrack of the film "Beat Street", released in 1984 by Atlantic, is the first single released by the group Grandmaster Melle Mel And The Furious Five. The production veers on sounds close to electro and disco vibes, the beat is made by Melle Mel and Sylvia Robinson. Rapping is performed by Melle Mel with Mr. Ness aka Scorpio and Cowboy, the only two of Grandmaster Flash's Furious Five who followed him into the new group, later completed by other members. The single garnered a comforting response from audiences, reaching the top ten rnb singles at home (the only one to do so other than "The Message") and charting in the UK and Australia (third to do so after "The Message" and "White Lines").
5.3 Sugarhill Gang — "Livin' in the Fast Lane"
Dance production, female rnb hook from uncredited girl, fine bass line, snappy drum, tough hard kick, honest rap. The joint isn't excellent. Music credited to Joey Robinson Jr. and Cheryl Cook aka Cheryl the Pearl, singer of the Sequences who I personally believe also sings the uncredited chorus, at this point. This is also the last song Master Gee recorded with the Sugarhill Gang, then the boy will leave the group he co-founded himself due to professional and contractual differences with the Sugar Hill Records label. Released in 1984 as the lead single from the album of the same name, this is the group's eighth and final single to enter the rnb chart. In this way the Sugarhill Gang had at least one single in the charts from 1979 to 1984, for six years in a row.
5.4 Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five — "We Don't Work for Free" (Melle Mel & Clayton Savage)
The production is done by Sylvia Robinson and Melle Mel's Furious Five member Clayton Savage, who also takes part in the song together with Melle Mel. The beat is still focused on electro and dance sounds, the track is almost a solo by Clayton Savage who sings for most of the song also stealing some adlibs from Michael Jackson himself, while Melle Mel is almost secondary. Sixth single credited to Melle Mel or his group, fourth released in 1984, second single from the group's debut album, it ranks in the UK, sixth in a row to do so (eighth also counting "The Message" and "New York, New York").
5.5 The Furious Five — "Step Off" (Melle Mel, Cowboy & Scorpio)
The track is also credited as "The Furious Five featuring Cowboy, Melle Mel & Scorpio" and "Grandmaster Melle Mel & The Furious Five". Sylvia Robinson entirely produces this piece made by The Furious Five, the rapping is made by Melle Mel, Cowboy & Scorpio who are some of the boys members of the original Grandmaster Flash's Furious Five, then also passed into Melle Mel's group. There's also something curious behind this piece from the early days of hip-hop, because Grandmaster Flash's Furious Five have in their ranks, in addition to the aforementioned Scorpio and Cowboy, also Rahiem and Kid Creole who is the brother of Melle Mel. Why didn't Kid Creole join his brother's newborn group? The answer is quite simple: when The Furious Five group split, Scorpio and Cowboy followed Melle Mel in the new adventure, while Rahiem and Kid Creole remained with the Flash.
Flash, Rahiem and Kid Creole leave the Sugar Hill Records in 1984. This split resulted in the song "Step Off", which is a diss track by Melle Mel, Cowboy and Scorpio against the other faction of the Furious Five, Flash, Kid Creole and Rahiem. Released by Sugar Hill, distributed by MCA, this would be the Melle Mel [group]'s fifth single and fifth in a row to chart in the UK. It's their third released in 1984 and isn't included in an LP. The single doesn't spark what could have been hip-hop's first feud, unlike Roxanne Shanté's "Roxanne's Revenge" against UTFO.
5.6 The Treacherous Three — "Xmas Rap (Un-Censored)"
Twelfth single of the group, included in the second CD of the soundtrack of the film "Beat Street" (1984). This is one of their last singles before the breakup of the group, released as "Santa's Rap" in the UK market. The boys go back and forth with short verses about Santa Claus, casting doubt on the legitimacy of this holiday, rightly. There's also a beatbox break performed by Doug E. Fresh and then Kool Moe Dee closes the work with two full verses. Simple disco dance production by David Belafonte, sometimes uncredited.
5.7 Busy Bee — "Busy Bee's Groove"
Disco dance beat, with good bass and good drums, Busy Bee delivers with great style on a production he made with Joey Robinson Jr. This is his third single, second and last released on Sugar Hill from 1982 to 1985, then he leaves the label after its disbandment and signs first with Strong City then with UNI Records (both under the MCA umbrella), with which he also releases his first LP, "Running Thangs" (1988).
5.8 The Treacherous Three — "Turn It Up"
B-side from a 1985 single, one of their last on Sugar Hill Records, "Gotta Rock". The song ends up in several compilations, including the Treacherous Three of the same name released in 2000 with Sequel Records. Self-produced, the beat is sparse and minimal, and the piece has one of the most modern structures among the group's songs, being composed of long verses interspersed with a hook, opened by an intro and closed by an outro.
5.9 Sugarhill Gang — "The Down Beat"
The group is on its way out and this is a single from 1985 which isn't strong enough to lead to a fifth album of the group and indeed, marks the end of the Sugarhill Gang which will soon disband due to poor public response. Experimental production closer to industrial, heavy bass line, rough scratches everywhere (provided by Shobiz), curious rhythm, not very good though, simple hook, simple rap, unmemorable piece of the group. "Livin' in the Fast Lane" is the last song of the group with Master Gee, who leaves the group at the beginning of 1984 and is replaced by Greg "Kory-O" Taylor aka Kory Ward, rapper from Englewood, New Jersey — city where Sugar Hill Records is based — who participated as the author of the song "Step Off" published in 1984 by The Furious Five aka Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five and which had a good following in the UK and Ireland. He's also among the authors of "Pump Me Up", one of the last songs by Melle Mel to enter the charts in the UK, then working for songs by Sequence and Sugarhill Gang.
Kory-O was later replaced as the third member of the group by Joey Robinson Jr., former member of his own boogie / electro group at Sugar Hill Records, West Street Mob, and that he had also tried a career as an rnb / soul artist shortly before as a duo with Reggie Griffin, New Guys on The Block. Joey Robinson Jr. is co-producer of this piece, which is produced by Moe Dewese aka Kool Moe Dee of The Treacherous Three, who are currently still in the roster of the label, even if for a short time.
5.10 Grandmaster Melle Mel — "Vice"
Leland Robinson and Melle Mel produce Grandmaster Melle Mel [and the Furious Five]'s last single, 'Vice', one of two not to chart alongside 'King of the Streets' released later that year (all others had luck in UK). The production is questionable, the rap not totally inspired and the hook is quite functional (the title is repeated until you drop) in this song made for the soundtrack of the TV series "Miami Vice 1".
5.11 Miracle Mike & the Ladies of the 80's — "Outta Control"
Production credited to Michael "Miracle Mike" Carriel. 1985 joint also written by Nancy Negron, published by Sugar Hill. Disco rap song. It goes down in history as the last record officially printed by the label, almost risking not being printed by Sugar Hill, which will soon close its doors.
5.12 Mass Production — "Street Walker" (ft. Melle Mel)
Mass Production is a ten-piece funk/disco group, in 1979 they put out the hit "Firecracker", then the group broke up in 1983, soon forgotten. This song is from 1985. Maybe 1986. In any case, at least two years after the group broke up. It's also possible to find it under the group name "Smash", perhaps a new identity of the group itself, I have no idea. The creation of the beat, a stylish mix of funk and dance, is credited to group producer Ed Ellerbe aka T. Ellerbe, and group members James "Otiste" Drumgole and Larry Marshall. After the verses sung by the boys, Melle Mel gets to kick things up a notch with some rapping that differs from what you might have heard from the emcees, but is still carried on nice and stylish, the track is a hidden gem. Maybe inspired by the movie "Streetwalkin'" (1985), maybe it was supposed to be in the soundtrack of that b-movie? Who knows, someone should investigate.
It's also unclear which label this single came on — site discogs has an entry for both the release featuring Paran, label that somehow releases a Mass Productions single after their breakup, in 1984 ("Come Get Some of This") — however, on the CD pressing of "Street Walker" stands out 1986 — both for release with Sugar Hill Records, in two different versions, one under the name Mass Productions and another under the name Smash, act who signed to Sugar Hill in 1985 releasing a single ("Bite the Beat") that fell on deaf ears, produced on the minor Pepper Sons label and released by Two Pepper Music — who will release two Mass Productions double CDs for the UK market in 2014 and 2016 — and by Ghati Music, the label with which Grandmaster Melle Mel & the Furious Five release a single in 1985 ("Pump Me Up").
5.13 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five — "The Message ('97 Dungeon Mix)" (Melle Mel & Duke Bootee)
Kurt Hoffmann and Quincy Newell create the beat for this remix of Melle Mel's iconic single to complete this immense collection of immortal singles from Sugar Hill Records. The remix doesn't excel, it gives a bit of patina to the track, but it doesn't surpass the original.
Final Thoughts
The compilation album is released by Rhino Records, who had purchased the North American rights to the Sugar Hill Records label catalogue in 1995. Upon release, the project garnered positive reviews from critics and is deemed an essential record to learn about the roots of hip-hop from the retrospective. Fresh, iconic and beautiful, it's an essential compilation for fans of old school hip-hop given the massive presence of anthological hits that defined the genre and form its foundation, which weren't released on LP at the time being the genre anchored primarily in single releases, while still maintaining simple lyricism, minimal rapping and funky music that is beautiful and excellent.
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